Round 3, No. 93: NT Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern
Original Pick: EDGE Corey Lemonier (No. 88 Overall)
Here’s another one of Trent Baalke’s trade-ups that should make you cringe.
Baalke moved up from No. 93 overall to the 88th spot, sending off a seventh-round pick in the process, to land former Auburn pass-rusher Corey Lemonier.
Lemonier, and his one pass-rushing move, went bust in a hurry. He’s no longer with the team, needless to say, and never turned into an effective EDGE for San Francisco as it looked to find some sort of fill-in for the prolific, yet troubled, Aldon Smith.
Instead, the Niners would have been wise to stay put and land former Missouri Southern nose tackle Brandon Williams.
Williams has been a solid nose for the Baltimore Ravens, starting all but two games since taking over a more prominent role in 2014. Meanwhile, the 49ers were forced to rotate in effective-yet-oft-injured nose tackles Glenn Dorsey and Ian Williams over the past few years.
Neither are with the 49ers anymore, but Williams likely would have been a part of a defense that would have fared much better against the run the last couple of seasons.